Suction cleaner with converter facility



y 11, 1954 e. A. BRACE sucwzou CLEANER WITH CONVERTER FACILITY 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 1

INVENTOR. 6 60 296 9? Bra C6 BY May 11, 1954 G. A. BRACE SUCTION CLEANER WITH CONVERTER FACILITY Filed Sept. 1, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 III 11" IN) l i I l 1 I INVENTOR. Geozyeflfiflace Patented May 11, 1954 SUCTION CLEANER WITH CONVERTER FACILITY George A. Brace, Highlan The Hoover Company,

corporation of 01110 d Park, Ill., assignor to North Canton, Ohio, a

Application September 1, 1951, Serial No. 244,792

9 Claims. 1

This invention relates to suction cleaners and more particularly to a new and vastly improved design for easy and simple conversion between on-the-fioor and olT-the-floor operation.

There have been many previous attempts to provide a cleaner having the capabilities referred to but all are subject to serious disadvantages which are entirely overcome by the present invention. Thus, one of the principal objects of these unsuccessful attempts has been to produce a cleaner design having converter facilities operating automatically to raise the power driven agitator entirely out of operating contact with the carpet as an incident to the insertion of the converter tool for the purpose of protecting the carpet from injury during oiT-the-floor-cleaning. For the greatest convenience, it is highly desirable to insert the converter from above and in such manner that no other operation is required to raise the nozzle; otherwise the operator has to be trained as to the proper procedure to be followed. Moreover, it has been found that users frequently forget this procedure or inadvertently fail to follow it in part.

Attempts to provide safeguards have involved the use of complex and costly interlocks which require the operator to follow a correct operating procedure in order to convert the cleaner. If the user attempts to operate the interlocks improperly, breakage results necessitating costly repairs.

These and other disadvantages of prior constructions are entirely overcome by the present invention the essence of which comprises locking a spring positioned between the carriage and the cleaner body out of operation during on-the-floor cleaning and releasing the spring as an incedent to conversion to off-the-floor operation permitting the spring to hold the nozzle elevated above the carpet. Another feature of the invention is the use of the lockout for the spring additionally as a means for locking the converter cover closed, as well as a means for adjusting the operating height of the nozzle for different carpets.

Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a new and improved cleaner.

Another object is the provision of new and simplified means for assuring elevation of the suction nozzle and the agitator carried thereby when the cleaner is being used with dusting tools.

Still another object is the provision of a spring connection between the suction nozzle and the supporting wheels together with means for looking the spring out of operation when the cleaner is conditioned for certain cleaning operations and tool, as will be described in for releasing the spring to elevate the nozzle with respect to the Wheels when it is conditioned for other cleaning operations.

A further object is the provision of lockout control means for the aforementioned spring having additional multiple functions including those of locking the converter cover closed and of adjusting the nozzle to different operating positions to accommodate carpets of difierent types and thicknesses.

Various other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following detailed specification of an illustrative embodiment taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view through a suction cleaner incorporating the invention taken along line l-I on Figure 2 Figure 2 is a bottom view of the cleaner shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary view taken along line 3 3 on Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary sectional view taken alon line i on Figure 1;

Figure 5 is a fragmentary view of the lower end of the converter tool; and

Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the combined lock-out and nozzle adjustment control lever taken from the side thereof visible in Figure 1.

As herein depicted, the invention is shown incorporated in a suction cleaner having a main body it provided with a suction nozzle l across its forward end. A conventional rotary agitator i2 is supported in the mouth of the suction nozzle. The motor-fan unit i3 is housed within a cylindrical casing and is pivotally supported at its opposite ends by the upper, inner sides of housing members it and 15 cast integrally with the main body and communicating at their lower ends with the suction nozzle. The motor is not shown but will. be understood to have a horizontally arranged shaft coinciding with the pivotal axis of the motor-fan unit. The motor shaft projects through the bearing support into housing l5 and forms a pulley for the agitator driving belt IE. radial blade fan I? is mounted on the other end of the motor shaft opposite fan eye It located in the inner side of housing Id. The lower sides of housings id and are provided with removable covers [9 and 29, respectively, which are held in place as by screws 2i, 2!. Cover I9 is provided with a depression 22 to receive and provide a rigid support for the lower end of the converter greater detail below.

The portion of the cylindrical motor-fan casing enclosing the fan is enlarged and leads into an exhaust air passage 23 projecting through a slot 24 in the rear, central portion of the cleaner body. lhe usual filter bag 25 may be detachably connected to the outer end of the discharge passageway and its upper end may be connected to a cleaner propelling handle 25 carried in the socket 21 formed on the upper side of the motor-fan unit.

The cleaner is supported on a pair of rear wheels 23 and a pair of forward or carrier wheels 29, 29. The latter wheels are mounted on the outer end of the generally U-shaped axle shaft 30. The bight portion 3| of this shaft is rotatably supported in a pair of bearings 32, 32 attached to the rear wall of the suction nozzle in any suitable manner. A torsion spring 33 surrounding the shaft has one end rigidly secured to the cleaner body and the other end connected to the shaft 33 so as to urge it to rotate clockwise as viewed in Figure 1. This spring is of sufficient strength to lift the forward end of the cleaner by rotating shaft in bearings 32.

The converter facilities and the means for holding the carrier wheels in their normal retracted position for on-the-floor operation of the cleaner will now be described. The upper wall of housing 14 is provided with a converter cover 35 having a hinge connection 36 with the housing. This cover is normally urged toward closed position by coil spring 31, as will be more clearly understood from Figure 4. The side of the cover adjacent the motor-fan unit has an integral, downward extension 38 which mates with a corresponding cut-out in the side wall of housing i4 and supports an outwardly'projecting latch pin 39.

A combined lookout for spring '33 and nozzle adjustment control lever 40 has its floor end journaled about axle 30 and extends upwardly between the inner side of housing l4 and the adjacent side of the motor-fan unit. The upper end of this lever is provided with an enlarged end having an upwardly opening slot 4| therein which terminates at its inner end in a pair of notches 42 and 43. This slot forms a raceway for latch pin 39. As clearly appears from Figure 1, notch 42 is located at a shorter radial distance from shaft 30 than notch 43. Accordingly, when pin 93 of the converter cover is seated in notch 42,

the nozzle is adjusted'for the proper cleaning of carpets of average thickness. However, if the control lever is shifted to the right so that pin 39 is seated in notch 43, spring 33 will rotate shaft 39 downwardly and hold the nozzle in a somewhat higher position suitable for the cleaning of thick carpets.

The upper end of the control lever may be bent over to provide a pointer 45 which will register with one of a series of indicia such as Norma1,"

and Unlock imprinted on the top side of housing 24 and thereby serve to indicate the particular ad- ,iusted position of the nozzle.

Adjustment of the nozzle is accomplished very simply merely by depressing the cleaner slightly in opposition to spring 33 and shifting the control lever into either notch 42 or 43, as desired, and

then releasing the pressure on the cleaner. Spring 33 thereupon locks the control lever in the desired adjusted position.

If it is desired to convert the cleaner to offthe-fioor operation, the operator merely depresses the forward end of the cleaner and shifts the control lever downwardly until the forward edge of lever 40 abuts stop pin 45 carried on the side of 5| on its outer end for connection to the usual flexible suctionhose can then be inserted downwardly through the converter port until the lower end seats in depression 22 of cover plate l9. As shown in Figure 5, the rear wall and portion of one side wall of the converter tool is cut away to provide an opening 52 registering with fan eye 18. Any suitable latch mechanism, not shown, can be employed to lock the tool in place during offthe-fioor cleaning in accordance with customary practice in the art. The converter cover is prevented'from closing by contact with the rear side of the converter tool.

Reconversion to on-the-fioor cleaning is accomplished very simply by merely depressing the cleaner against spring 33 and rotating lever 40 clockwise as cover 35 is closed. The desired one of notches 42 or 43 is then brought into registry with latch pin 39 on the cover. As the pressure is released on the cleaner, spring 33 retains the cointrol lever in the desired one of the notches and locks the converter cover'closed.

Further detailed discussion of the mode of operation of the cleaner would appear to be unnecessary. It suffices to note that the simple spring and control lever for controlling the position of the suction nozzle for on-the-fldor cleaning also serves to hold the converter cover closed normally as well as for automatically elevating the suction nozzle immediately upon the unlocking of the converter cover. All that remains for conversion to dusting tool cleaning is to insert the' converter tool downwardly and latch it in place. If the insertion of the converter should depress the suction nozzle momentarily, it is obvious that it will be immediately elevated by spring 33 and held in this position so long as the converter is present.

It is obvious from the foregoing description of one structural embodiment that the invention can be incorporated in a great variety of other arrangements without departing from the essential principles thereof.

While I have shown but one embodiment of my invention it is to be understood that this embodiment is to be taken as illustrative only and not in a limiting sense. I do not wish to be limited to the particular structure shown and described'but to include allequivalent variationsthereof except as limited by the scope of the claims.

I claim:

1. A suction cleaner comprising, a main body having a suction nozzle supporting a rotary agitator therein, a'motor driven suction unit on said body, a belt connected between said agitator and said motor, a suction passage in said body extending between said nozzle and the inlet to said suction unit, a converter port in the upper side of'said passage provided'with a cover biased toopen position by a spring, wheels supporting said cleaner body including a pair of front wheels movable toward and away from said body to control the elevation of the suction nozzle, spring means for urging said nozzle upwardly away fromsaid front wheels to a position out of cleanng relation to the floor, and manually operable control means connected between said front wheels and said converter port cover constituting the sole means for holding said cover closed and said nozzle in different closely spaced cleaning relations to said floor when in any one of several positions thereof and for releasing said cover and said suction nozzle when moved to another position thereof.

2. The combination defined in claim 1 wherein said manually operable control means includes indicator means visible from the upper side of said cleaner and showing the particular adjusted position of said control means at any time.

3. A suction cleaner comprising, a main body having a suction nozzle across its forward end mounting a rotary agitator therein, a motor driven suction unit having an axis extending horizontally crosswise of said body, said body having a suction passage extending between said nozzle and the inlet to said suction unit and another passage extending between said nozzle and said motor for housing a driving belt for said agitator,

port in the top side thereof, a cover for said port, supporting wheel means for said body including a U-shaped axle member pivotally connecting a pair of front wheels to said body, spring means interposed between said axle and said body for elevating said nozzle to a position well above the fioor and for holding said agitator out of contact with a carpet on the floor, releasable control means extending between said axle and said converter port cover for holding said cover closed and said nozzle selectively in any one of a pluralfloor during oif-the-fioor cleaning.

4. In a combination, a combined range shifter, converter cover lock and nozzle raising mechanism for a suction cleaner of the type having a suction nozzle provided with a converter receiving said nozzle, spring means for urging said nozzle upwardly away from said wheels to a high, noncleaning position, and unitary control means extending between said supporting wheels and said cover for holding said cover closed and for holding said nozzle selectively in a plurality of carpet cleaning elevations, said control means being movable to another position to release said cover so that a converter may be connected to said converter receiving port and to release said nozzle so that said spring means can elevate said nozzle to said high, non-operating position.

5. A suction cleaner comprising, a body having a suction nozzle provided with a rotary agitator, a power-driven suction unit on said body in communication with said nozzle, a driving connection between said unit and said agitator, front and rear wheels supporting said cleaner including spring means interposed between certain of said wheels and said cleaner arranged to elevate said nozzle upwardly thereabove and out of cleaning relation to the floor when not restrained, said body having a converter port leading into said suction unit, a closure normally closing said port, common means connected between said spring means and said closure adjustable to any one of a plurality of positions for selectively adjusting said nozzle to different cleaning positions with respect to said floor and holding said closure closed in each of said positions, said adjustable connecting means being movable to another po sition to release said closure for opening and to remove the restraint on said spring means whereby the latter is free to elevate said nozzle out of cleaning relation to the floor.

6. A suction cleaner as defined in claim 5 wherein said common means connected between said spring means and said closure comprises a single element.

7. A suction cleaner as defined in claim 6 wherein said single element comprises a link having one end movably connected to said certain spring pressed wheels, the other end of said link having a series of notches therein at different radial distances from said one end and selectively engageable with said closure for holding said spring means restrained in different positions so as to hold said nozzle in different cleaning positions with respect to the floor.

8. In combination, a suction cleaner having a body provided with a suction nozzle across its forward end, a motor-fan unit on said body having an inlet eye opening into a suction passage in communication with said nozzle, rear wheels at the rear of said body, a pair of front wheels secured to and adjustable vertically with respect to said body, spring means between said front wheels and said body for supporting said nozzle out of cleaning relation to the floor when not restrained, a converter port opening through the top of said suction passageway, a normally closed hinged closure for said port, a combined range shifter and latch for holding said closure closed and said nozzle depressed at a desired floor cleaning elevation in opposition to said spring means, said range shifter having a control member accessible from the upper portion of said cleaner and being manually operable thereby to adjust said nozzle to different floor cleaning positions in each of which said closure is held closed and being movable to another position for releasing said closure and for permitting said spring means to elevate said nozzle out of cleaning relation to the floor.

9. In combination, a suction cleaner having a main body provided with a suction nozzle across its forward end, a rotary agitator in said nozzle, a motor-fan unit on said body in communication with said nozzle, vertically adjustable means for connecting a pair of axle supported front wheels to said cleaner body, spring means for urging said wheels away from said body to support said nozzle out of cleaning relation to the floor, said body having a converter receiving port therein, a hinged closure for said port, and common means for holding said nozzle in cleaning relation to the floor and said closure closed comprising a single element having one end connected to the axle for said front wheels and the other end movable into and out of latching engagement with said closure.

610,147 Great Britain Oct. 12, 1948 

